Michael Hayes

Economics, 1963

Chairman of the board and former president and CEO of Fred's Inc.

I recently retired from Fred's Inc., a Fortune 1000 company with more than 700 stores in the Southeast. Fred's is a unique, general merchandise store, combining elements of a discount dollar store, drug store and mass merchant.

After college, I began my career as a stock broker for Merrill Lynch. I eventually moved up the ranks to become vice president of the individual investment division before moving on to Oppenheimer and Company and becoming the executive president of Oppenheimer Life Agency.

The keys to interviewing for a job are preparation, passion and a positive attitude, all of which were instilled in me while I was a student at Lycoming.